By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. passenger railroad Amtrak said on Tuesday ridership topped 2019 pre-COVID levels for the first time in 2024 and reached a record high even with less capacity.
Ridership increased 15% over 2023 to a record 32.8 million customer trips, as passenger revenue hit $2.5 billion, up 9% over the prior year, while total operating revenue was $3.6 billion, up 7%. Amtrak reported an adjusted operating loss of $705 million for the 12 months ending Sept. 30, down 9% over 2023.
Amtrak's prior record was 32.3 million passengers in 2019, which was up 45% from 2003.
Amtrak in March said it was boosting passenger services on the East Coast as it aims to double ridership nationwide by 2040 to 66 million passengers and faces issues to expand service.
Amtrak said in June it had fewer seats because of a number of factors including delays in starting service while awaiting new train cars.
Congress approved $66 billion in funding for rail projects as part of a massive infrastructure bill in 2021, with $22 billion dedicated to Amtrak and $36 billion made available for grants.
Amtrak's future funding is uncertain. President-elect Donald Trump during his first term repeatedly sought to cut funding to Amtrak, which received about $2.4 billion in annual federal support this year.
In November 2023, the White House announced $16.4 billion in new funding for 25 passenger rail projects on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which is the busiest U.S. rail corridor with 800,000 daily trips in a region that represents 20% of the U.S. economy. Many bridges, tunnels and other parts of the corridor are in serious need of repairs.
Amtrak has suffered a series of service disruptions over the last six months. Last month, the railroad was forced to temporarily suspend all train service between New York and Washington for several hours due to overhead power issues in Philadelphia, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of riders.
Just over 14 million passengers traveled in the 12 months ending Sept. 30 on the busy northeast corridor including Washington and Boston. Amtrak transports about five times as many passengers between New York and Washington as airlines.